A Reflection of Society- Questioning Utopia

An unknown philosopher once said, “The price we pay for being different may be severe.” If you’re paying attention to world news, then you’ll notice that the main struggle pretty much revolves around the notion of equal rights when it comes to race, religion, tribes, nationalities, gender, and sexuality.

The word “Utopia” was coined by Thomas More from Greek Words meaning “Good Place” and “No Place”. He wrote about a Utopian society as an imaginary place where everything is ideally perfect. According to the International Fashion Showcase in 2016 the idea of Utopia should capture the nostalgia of longing for a better future. Thomas More, a British social philosopher, who imagined Utopia as an island in which we can learn from differences in people and their culture rather than create conflict from it.

History deals with the clash of culture and identities; it certainly has a way of repeating itself in different ways. While every society has its problems, at the end of it all, we have to ask, can we all just get along? Is it at all possible to reach the utopian world? Although these questions can’t really be answered we can definitely paint a picture of what it might entail.

The International Fashion Showcase in London was titled, Utopia 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility. It featured 24 countries and 80 designers put together different visual elements of Utopia using fashion as a medium. The theme filled with unifying colours and ideas is simply a reflection of an imagined utopian future, a place filled with peace and tolerance but as the idea revolves around a non-existent society, perhaps the idea of perfection in humanity is far-fetched.

Finally, while this abstract society is out of reach, a version of it might be possible. It entails living in a world where every human is equipped with the basic needs (food, water, and shelter) to survive. A society where discrimination and hatred have no place, the government would adopt a transparent system, culture and diversity would be celebrated and norms would be encouraged not enforced.